Keeper of the Fates
by ElvenDragonSorceress
Summary: Just a short lil' fic. Frodo becomes deathly ill in Valinor and Legolas leaves to find a cure based on an old legend. Will he succeed or die as countless others have in the same quest?
1. Arrivals

Sam peeked in on Frodo before he went to the dining hall. Even after the Ring had been destroyed, and the two had crossed the Sea, Sam still looked after Frodo as much as he could. Sam smiled when he noticed that Frodo's bedroom door was shut. It was still fairly early, so Sam wasn't concerned. He continued on to the dining hall. The dining hall was filled with Elves, which never failed to amaze Sam. He loved Elves and had been overjoyed when some of his children had been born with rather elven looks. He saw Elrond sitting at one of the smaller tables with an elf Sam didn't quite recognize. The elf seemed vaguely familiar, but Sam couldn't place how. He noticed a dwarf next to him. The dwarf had a thick gray beard and a very familiar axe. It was then that Sam recognized the elf. "Legolas! Gimli! It's been so long!" Sam ran over to them. Legolas looked up and smiled. "So it has, Master Samwise." Legolas got up, then knelt down so he could embrace the hobbit. Gimli looked over. "Here now, who's this? Oh, it's Sam! We thought we might see you here." Gimli hopped off of the chair, which was way too tall for him, and walked over to Sam. "It's good to see someone of reasonable height again. I've been around him so long I've forgotten how nice it is to talk to someone's face rather than their chest." Sam laughed. "Where is Frodo, Sam? He told me he was getting up early today." Elrond said. "He's still in his bedroom, at least he was when I checked in on him." Sam replied as he climbed onto a stool designed for hobbits. The stool was taller that the other chairs, but had ladder rungs on the side so that a shorter person could climb up and sit as though they were 'normal' height. Some of the elven craftsmen had built the chairs for Frodo and Sam. "He's been a bit tired. I'm sure he will be fine in a few days. Just like before." Elrond sighed. "I always worry when he gets like that. Between Shelob's poison and the old burden of the Ring, I'm surprised he's still doing as well as he is." 


	2. Frodo is ill again...

  
A/N: You do need to have read all of the books, as well as Master Tolkien's notes in the back of Return of the King for this fic. Frodo does get sick, on anniversaries of Shelob poisoning him as well as when the Ringwraith stabbed him. For the sake of this fic, it continues after he enters Valinor.

"The wound will never fully heal. He will carry it for the rest of his life." - Gandalf

Frodo tried to read the clock on the shelf. His vision was blurry and he felt horrid. He had tried to call for Sam, but his voice could barely go above a whisper. His shoulder throbbed. He had felt bad on certain days before, but never this bad. He couldn't remember what day it was, or if he had been expecting a bad day. Frodo closed his eyes and tried to make the world stop spinning so fast around him.

Sam and Elrond went over to Frodo's house while Gimli and Legolas went to see Galadriel and Celeborn before finding homes themselves. Sam knocked on the door and got no reply. They entered anyway and found the house empty. "He hasn't even had breakfast yet! It's almost noon now." Sam looked around. "It seems that he hasn't even gotten up yet, Sam. Let's see if he's in his room." Elrond walked over to the door. He knew Frodo well enough now that Frodo didn't mind if he came in unannounced. "Frodo? Are you well?" Elrond called as he knocked on Frodo's bedroom door. No reply. Sam opened the door and entered first. "Mister Frodo?" They saw Frodo still in bed. He was deathly pale and seemed to have trouble breathing. Elrond sat on the edge of the bed and carefully pulled the sheets back. Frodo's nightshirt was partially open and his shoulder was showing. The scar from the ringwraith's blade was red and swollen. Elrond carefully placed the back of his hand on Frodo's forehead. The hobbit had an extremely high fever. Elrond quickly got up and began searching for the bag of herbs that Frodo used to ease the symptoms. Sam went to make a tea to ease the raging fever. When Elrond finally located the herbs and returned to Frodo's room, he found that Frodo's breathing was substantially worse. He was gasping for air and the sound reminded Elrond horribly of when Frodo had first come to Rivendell on Arwen's horse. Sam brought in a steaming kettle. The tea was quickly made but Frodo was unable to drink it. Elrond sent Sam out to get some of his assistants and supplies. Sam returned ten minutes later with four Elves and two large bags. Frodo had stabilized, but was still very ill. "He's never gotten this ill, I do not understand." Elrond mumbled to himself as he prepared to use a soft tube to give some of the tea and other medications to Frodo. He spoke quietly in elven to Frodo to calm him. He doubted that Frodo was coherent enough to understand anyway. Frodo didn't fight the tube going down his throat, which worried Elrond. Even elves who were too weak to even open their eyes fought the tube, it was a natural reaction. Elrond set a funnel on top of the tube and poured in some of the tea carefully. The tea was actually partially kingsfoil and part peppermint. Elrond checked to make sure the tube wasn't hindering Frodo's breathing before going to give his assistants tasks. He sent one to get more herbs, one began preparing a simple meal that could be tube-fed, one went to get water and a basin, and the last was sent to tell his colleagues at the Healer Hall that he would be there a while. He told Sam to stay outside out of the way until Elrond had finished. Sam wasn't happy, but he was assured that if there were any way for him to help, Elrond would tell him. Sam left depressed and sat on Frodo's doorstep. 


	3. Chapter 3

Legolas bid Galadriel farewell and headed down the path with Gimli towards the road that led to Frodo's house. It was good to see them again, and Galadriel was pleased to hear that the bow she had given him had felled so many orcs. The path curved lightly this way and that, lazily lying across the Shire-like land. As they came upon Frodo's house, they saw Sam again sitting on the step. Legolas knew something was wrong when he saw Sam's face. "What's wrong?" Gimli asked. "Mister Frodo's sick again. Worse than before, actually." Legolas and Gimli sat down on the step next to Sam. Sam explained how Frodo got sick sometimes on the anniversaries of different days. The major ones were when Shelob poisoned him and when the Ring was destroyed. They all turned when they heard Elrond open the door. His face was grim. "Is he going to be alright?" Sam asked. Elrond sighed. "I fear not this time. The medicines I have given him have no effect. He doesn't have much longer." Sam almost fell off the step. "No…" Legolas put a hand on Sam's shoulder, and the hobbit turned to him and began sobbing onto his shoulder. Legolas embraced him, not knowing how to comfort the hobbit. "Is there nothing we can do?" Legolas asked Elrond. "There is one way, but it is just legend here. It is said that a great Lady, known as the Keeper of the Fates, may be able to heal him. She lives on a tiny island just off the coast to the South. The way is treacherous. Dragons guard her shores, her forest, and her home. No one has ventured to her island and lived. Not even the Valar dare to go there, for she holds their fates, too." Legolas looked at Gimli. "Perhaps we can try. We've faced thousands of orcs and lived to tell the tale." Gimli agreed, but Elrond stopped him. "She will not reveal herself to one who is not elven. If you wish, Legolas, I will show you a map that was made of the Island from ships. It shows only the coast and where the dangerous coral reefs are, but little more." Legolas released Sam, who was still sobbing, and stood up. "Show me. We have precious little time." 


	4. Chapter 4

Within a day Legolas was sailing again. The tiny ship cut through the waves easily enough. Legolas kept Valinor's Shores in sight so he could keep with the map. "The road to her home in the Island is a great test of will, Legolas. No one has yet passed. Kill nothing, and do not leave the path. Good luck." Elrond had warned Legolas. He still had taken his bow and knives, but he knew that he couldn't use them. He also had enough food to feed four people for at least 3 months. It took him only a day of good sailing to reach the first of the obstacles, coral reefs. Some broke the surface, with sharp points glittering in the sun. Others sat just below the waves, waiting to slice into the wooden underbelly of the ship. Legolas watched the waves for warnings and also for the telltale change in color. He guided the agile boat around the reefs. A few came close, but he managed to keep the ship whole. The next obstacle wasn't so easy, Sea Dragons. Legolas left the ship's wheel for but a moment to grab some of the salted meat he'd brought. As the dragons rose above the sea to attack, he threw off a chunk of meat. The dragons ate the meat and left him alone. Legolas sighed. That had cost him a lot of his food supply. He was down to only 10 pounds of meat. He saw a suitable place for landing the ship. It was high tide, so he knew the ship wouldn't be pulled back into the reefs. He tied it off to a nearby tree anyway. The beach was bright and tropical. Legolas would have liked to stay there for a day or two, but he had more important matters to tend to. He packed up as much food as he could as well as his weapons, and entered the thick forest. "Legends say that she lives in the center of the volcano in the center of the island." Elrond had told him. Legolas had marked it on his map. The trees closed in around Legolas and he felt as though maybe staying on the beach wasn't so bad. "No, Greenleaf! Frodo needs you…" He reprimanded himself. He made sure to keep to the path. As he walked, he saw beautiful springs and berry bushes just off the path. He ate some of the berry and bread bars that one of the chefs had made for him and kept to the path. 

Legolas walked on throughout the night. He saw many small knolls and caves that looked very inviting to his tired body, but he kept on. The path was becoming much harder for him. He wished he would find a place to rest on the path, but there was none. He decided to rest for a few hours by lying on the path and hoping no one came down it. He awoke refreshed and continued. He found that in the night someone or something had taken most of his food, one of his knives, and his cloak. He ate a little bit of the food he had left. A little farther down the path, he saw one of the largest deer he'd ever seen. It was very large and muscular, with a rack of horns at least double the size of the largest deer Legolas had ever caught. Legolas drew an arrow and notched his bow, but stopped as he aimed it. The deer must be ages old, and very well a Lord of the Forest like he had been in Mirkwood. Legolas put away the arrow and instead yelled to scare the deer off. Legolas saw that one of the deer's antlers had fallen off when it ran. Legolas took the huge horn. "Strange, it is still spring. Deer do not shed their horns until autumn." He tied it to his pack and continued. 


	5. Chapter 5

As night again approached Legolas began to see lights far off the path. Some resembled window-lights, some resembled the lights from a traveling elven band. Legolas had become rather lonely in the time he'd spent traveling, as short as it was, but kept to the path. He let his memories of Frodo from when they had traveled in the Fellowship keep him to the path. Legolas had been warned by a very old elf that the woods were full of "Illusations", creatures that could read the minds of travelers and take different forms to lure them off the path to their deaths. Legolas began to hear footsteps and rustling leaves just off the path. "Who's there?" he yelled. To his surprise, he saw his mother just off the path. "Its just me, dear son. Come now, you must be tired. Come and rest. Come with me." Legolas almost did. "No. My mother is dead. Orcs killed her a long time ago." The Illusation turned back to its true form, which was like a dragon made of smoke, and disappeared. Legolas kept walking. He decided against sleeping again because he could now see the trees thinning and felt the air growing warmer. "The volcano is near." 

Farther down the path Legolas again heard noises. He ignored them. "Legolas!" a voiced called from the woods. Legolas stopped. It was Frodo! "Legolas, come back! I'm better now, see! Elrond's medicines helped!" Frodo stepped out near the path. "Come now, I've made tea back at camp." Legolas stopped. "Not another Illusation! Go away! I care not for your tricks." Legolas knew that Elrond's medicine worked instantly, not over many days. Also, Frodo preferred the elves' fruit drinks to tea now. The Illusation hissed as it changed again and threw a small trinket, a leaf-like pendant, onto the path. It then disappeared again. Legolas took the pendant and tied it to the deer horn before continuing. Somehow he knew they were important. 


	6. Chapter6

Soon the trees stopped and the road became very rocky and hard. Legolas's food supply was gone, he had one water bottle left, and he was very tired. The volcano loomed above him. Fire and lava shot high into the air from its peak. As Legolas looked up, he almost ran. Now he knew how Frodo felt facing Mount Doom! Legolas saw that the path slipped into the volcano halfway up its slope. Legolas climbed as quickly as he could. As he neared the entrance, a great dragon came out. "No one passes!" It yelled at Legolas, almost flinging him off the path with the wind it created. "Please, my friend is very ill. I must speak with the Keeper of the Fates! He is ill beyond even elven medicine." The dragon growled but did not move. "No one passes." Legolas thought for a moment. 'If he is going to be stubborn, then so shall I! No one denies the Prince of Mirkwood!' He thought to himself. "Please?" Legolas asked. 

"no"

"please?"

"No!"

"Pretty please?"

"NO!"  
Legolas got annoyed. He then remembered how his youngest sister had gotten a new horse from his father. He began to sing a song that the youngest elves often learned their notes on. It was a simple tune, and it was well liked, but the nonsensical chorus line got annoying quickly when sang for long periods of time.

"Mmmbop! Ba duba dop! Ba du bop, ba duba dop, ba du bop, ba duba bop!"

"Oh no…"

"Mmmbop! Ba duba dop! Ba du bop, ba duba dop, ba du bop, ba duba bop!"

The dragon laid its great head down and covered its ears. 

"NOOO!"

"Mmmbop! Ba duba dop! Ba du bop, ba duba dop, ba du bop, ba duba bop!"

A few hours later…

"Mmmbop! Ba duba dop! Ba du bop, ba duba dop, ba du bop, ba duba bop!"

"Alright, alright! Just stop singing!"

Legolas laughed. The great dragon grudgingly got out of the way. He gave Legolas a rather ornate pendant and then roared at him to leave him be.

"Mmmbop! Ba duba dop! Ba du bop, ba duba dop, ba du bop, ba duba bop!"

Legolas added in another line just to be sure. He laughed when he heard the dragon take off running in terror. He continued down the path. The air around him was becoming very hot. He took off his gauntlets and his top shirt. He was sweating profusely. A few times he almost turned back because the heat was too much, but then he remembered what he had gone through to get there and Frodo. He also thought of Sam. He knew it would kill the hobbit if he lost Frodo. He followed the path to a great doorway. The doors were shut tightly and seemed to have no way of opening from the outside. Legolas knocked on the door. His only reply was the door's sudden emitting of a very foul music. It was the worst kind of music. Voices sang with no regard to the music, which was of a vastly different tune than the singing. The songs were filled with foul words, references to sex, drugs, murder, and anything and everything foul and horrible. Legolas almost ran from the sounds. "It is worse than facing orcs!" He finally tore strips of cloth from his shirt and stuffed his ears to help silence the horrid songs. He looked at the door. He saw an indentation that looked like the horn he had found. Inside were two other indentations that looked like the two pendants he had gotten. He placed the pendants in the appropriate indents and then placed in the horn. They all fit and now the horn resembled a handle. Legolas pushed and the doors opened and stopped the songs. Legolas removed the strips of cloth and entered slowly.


	7. Chapter 7

Sorry my chapters are so short. This is a rather small story as compared to my other two. I am currently working on my next fanfiction, the only problem is that it is a Hanson Fanfiction and ff.net is being annoying by removing all of the Music Groups stories! Oh well. I guess it's time for me to make my own site…

Inside it was immensely cooler. The room was huge. The walls were lined with millions of cubbyholes. Each hole contained a single scroll. Some were very long and filled the hole, others were very short. In the center of the room was a very tall lady. She was clothed in a long white robe. She held in her hand a small stamp in her left hand. Her right hand held a candle that looked like a dragon holding a skull. As Legolas approached her, a single scroll flew from its hole and unrolled in front of her. Legolas could see through the scroll because of the candlelight. He was amazed to see that words were appearing on the scroll by themselves. The words stopped. The scroll flattened the bottom of itself. The girl, who before had looked more like a statue because she never moved, tilted the candle over the scroll. Three drops of black wax fell on the scroll. She then stamped the scroll with her stamp. The scroll rolled itself back up and disappeared as it did. Legolas looked at the girl's face and realized that her head was tilted down and her eyes were closed. Legolas began again to walk up to her. Suddenly, a ring appeared in the floor around her. Light shone upwards from it and temporarily blocked the girl from Legolas's view. The light faded and Legolas again faced a dragon. This one was pure white, with completely white eyes. "Why have you come, Legolas, son of Thranduil?" Legolas was surprised that it knew who he was. "I have come to ask for help for a good friend of mine. He is dying and no medicine will help him." The dragon looked at Legolas, and Legolas felt as though the dragon was seeing inside of him, into his very heart and soul. "I know of who you speak. Frodo Baggins of the Shire, also known as Frodo of the Nine Fingers, son of Drogo Baggins. Fostered by Bilbo Baggins. Destroyer of Sauron's Ring. His fate has already been written. It cannot be changed." "NO! You must help him! He is well liked, and it would kill many if he were to pass away. Especially Samwise." A tear slipped from Legolas's eye. He didn't want Frodo to die. "He stands at death's door now. I can see that you care deeply for him. You have faced many dangers in coming here. I applaud you method of moving the guardian of the volcano! I have never seen him flee, nor have I ever seen him move so quickly! You faced the sea dragons, the Illusations, and the guardian with an unwavering heart. You face me now, and I can see no fear of me in your heart. But I still see fear." The dragon began to disappear. "Wait! My only fear is that Frodo will die!"

The dragon reappeared. It stood perfectly still. Another scroll flew from the walls. It flew towards the girl, but was intercepted by the dragon. "I can give him elven immortality, to him and to Sam and Bilbo as well as Gimli, but it requires a sacrifice." Legolas looked up at it. "What kind of sacrifice?"

"Your life."


	8. Chapter 8

Legolas thought for a moment. He had promised everyone that he would return. "May I at least send a message to them? I promised them that I would return." The dragon held a claw over him. A piece of paper, a quill pen, and a bottle of ink fell in front of him. Legolas sighed. He sat down on the floor and began to write.

"To everyone,

I am sorry to have to tell you that I will have to break my promise. I will not be returning from my trip. I have made it to the hall of the Keeper of Fates and pleaded for Frodo. In order for Frodo to be spared, I must give up my life for his. I guess everything has a price. Tell Frodo that I am sorry that I didn't get to see him again. Tell Gimli that I valued his friendship more than anything and that I am sad that I can no longer be with him. Elrond, your advice has been a godsend on this island, and I am glad to have had it. Gimli, Frodo, Sam and Bilbo will all have elven immortality. I hope you will all remember me fondly. I know not what the Keeper has in store as to my fate, but I bid you all the fondest of farewells. Now I can only hope for the best and accept my fate. Please forgive me, for I thought only of Frodo and everyone else. I will miss you all.

Legolas Greenleaf

Son of Thranduil

Prince of Mirkwood"

Legolas made sure to sign the message in his formal signature so that Elrond could be positive it was him. His formal signature was impossible to copy because of the elaborate way he blended together the letters and lines. Legolas stood up and gave the message to the dragon. "It shall be sent." The dragon waved a claw over the message and it disappeared. "Thank you." Legolas said. He was uncertain if he should fear or welcome death, for he had seen much that made him wish he was in the Halls of Mandos, and yet he knew that there was still much he had never seen. "My life for the others, then?" The dragon nodded. "So be it." Legolas bowed his head, accepting the fate he had chosen. The dragon roared, and Legolas felt very lightheaded and dizzy. He fell to the ground. As the world faded around him, he felt happy, and at peace. He knew he'd saved Frodo and given the others immortality. 


	9. Chapter 9 The End!

Frodo awoke from a very strange dream. In his dream, he had seen a great dragon and it had said something that Frodo couldn't understand. It had also put a piece of paper into his hand. Frodo shifted a bit and was surprised to find that he felt fine. The previous day he'd been too sick to even open his eyes. He felt something in his hand. He opened his eyes and looked around. Both Elrond and Sam were asleep in their chairs near his bed. He looked to see what he had in his hand. It was a small piece of paper. Frodo opened it and read it. His sudden cry of shock and hurt woke both Elrond and Sam quickly. "Frodo! You're awake!" Sam said happily. He stopped when he saw Frodo's shocked, pale face. "What is it, Frodo?" Elrond asked. Frodo simply handed him the note. Elrond quickly read it and almost fell as he sank back into his chair. He reread the note three times before he was sure he had read it correctly. He gave the note to Sam, who read it and then promptly fainted from shock. The thud awoke Gimli, who had been asleep in a chair in another room. Gimli came into the doorway and picked up the note that lay by his feet. He read it. The dwarf's tormented cries woke up half of Valinor. Within an hour, the whole land was grieving. 

A month later, Gimli carved a great statue of Legolas and it was placed in the center of Valinor. Many songs were sung and tales told of Legolas in the centuries to come. Some even tried to go to the Keeper of Fates to see if they could bring the great Legolas back, but few returned. Those that did return spoke of a great spirit that guarded the shores. When the elves that did get to the island tried to enter the woods, they felt a great presence, which frightened them so badly most ran right then and there. They described the feeling as "immense sadness, and a warning to flee." Those that did enter the forest, they say, became the prey of a restless soul, an archer with the keenest of eyes and the deadliest of weapons. One lone elf faced the spirit when he began to enter the wood. "Go back!" It had called from the trees. The elf had taken an arrow to the arm, and had fled. The arrow was given to Elrond. "I recognize this arrow. It was made by Legolas very long ago. He always used this kind of hawk feather often and never strayed from this arrowhead design." The arrow, and Legolas's legend, were passed down for ages amongst the elves, told often by Frodo and Gimli on a cold night next to a roaring fire. "Legolas shall never truly die," Frodo once told a particularly interested young elf, "so long as his tale remains true and so long as his dearest friends remember him."

  
  


That's my rather short fanfiction!

Please review and let me know how I did! :)

~ElvenDragonSorceress~

Also: Sorry to all my fellow Legolas fans! I dunno why I decided to do that, but it seemed like something that Legolas would do. I am working on my sequel to "Studying Dragons" and I hope to get it posted soon.


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